6 Month Vegan Update

Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash

Hello Eczema Warriors!

It’s been six months since I’ve switched over to the vegan diet after consuming animal products for most of my life. There are numerous benefits to the vegan diet. Click on the link to read some success stories.

Few years ago, I cut out dairy completely. It didn’t help over night, but my eczema definitely started to calm down in terms of redness and night time itching.

I was never lactose intolerant but through my research, dairy kept coming up as a contributor to eczema, so in my quest to become eczema free, I had to stop eating cheese, milk, yogurt and hershey’s cookies and cream (I know..how could I live without chocolate?!).

In the last year, I stayed on top of my supplements (vitamin C & D, probiotics and omega 3). I regularly took salt baths, applied jojoba oil to my skin and no other chemically created products.

However, my eczema didn’t seem to go away. If anything, I felt it coming back and I was constantly feeling uncomfortable in my own skin.

I woke up dreading dealing with my skin. On my walk to the bathroom, I’d start stressing about my skin.

“Is it going to be flaky? Red? Will washing my face and applying oil make it look normal in time for work? My skin feels fine though but let’s see how it looks in the mirror.”

6 Month Review

So after 6 months of being on the vegan diet (no chicken, beef, pork, goat, eggs, seafood, animal by-products, etc), I’m still on it!

The first 3 months was extremely hard. It was hard for me to accept the fact that I had to give up chicken and eggs.

I love chicken wings, period.

It was also hard to accept that, me as a person, whose identity was tied into eating meat, would no longer be eating meat.

Getting my family and friends on board, was a challenge in my head. Just explaining to them why I was trying this diet, was challenging at first.

Let the vegan jokes begin, I thought to myself.

Now that my circle knows and I was adamant on trying it, it’s no longer a topic. It’s a given now.

During the first few months, my digestion was a roller coaster, but for the better. I was constantly feeling cold internally and was stressed about what I was going to eat. I felt like my options were extremely limited.

I was constantly going to the washroom because of all the fiber I was eating and just my body adapting to it.

However, internally I started to feel a lot better. I felt lighter, quicker, less bloated and a little bit more energy. I felt like my body was finally detoxing. I was feeling positive too.

My skin still wasn’t where I wanted it to be though. However, as I progressed, my skin was less inflamed, red and swollen.

During the 3-6 month mark, my family who hadn’t seen me in a few months started to see the changes in my skin.